In-situ microscopy and digital image correlation to study the mechanical characteristics of polymer-based materials

In-situ microscopic methods can help researchers to analyse microstructural changes of materials structures under different conditions (e.g., temperature and pressure) at various length scales. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) combines image registration and tracking to enable accurate measurements of changes in materials in 2D and 3D. This review focuses on combining microscopy and DIC to study the properties of materials (including natural/synthetic biomaterials, biological samples and their composites) in academic, public and industry settings, including exciting examples of bioimaging.